Friday, February 13, 2015

Do Valentine’s day gifts also satisfy the test of economic rationality? NeilMacArthur and Mariana Adshade use game theory to show why it is bestto avoid such gifts, especially if a couple is already committed.

“Valentine’s Day, essentially, is a game in which each person who is in arelationship must choose between two strategies; buy a gift for theirsignificant other or do nothing to celebrate the day,” the duo writes.Given that there are two players, each with two strategic options, thereare three possible outcomes that can happen on the day. The firstoutcome is that both buy gifts, and are satisfied to learn that their partneris committed to the relationship. But that satisfaction comes at a hugecost as most Valentine day gifts are over-priced. The second outcome isthat one partner buys a gift and the other does not. One need not explainthe consequence. Suffice to say that break-ups tend to spike up in thesecond half of February, according to Facebook data. The third outcomeis that neither gifts.

“The best strategy would be for couples to ignore the holiday altogether,but they won’t because there is just too much pressure to conform to theholiday traditions from both inside and outside the relationship. From agame strategic perspective, participating in the holiday just leads tosub-optimal outcomes,” the duo argues.

Do Valentine’s day
gifts also satisfy the test of economic rationality? Neil MacArthur and
Mariana Adshade use game theory to show why it is best to avoid such
gifts, especially if a couple is already committed.
“Valentine’s Day, essentially, is a game in which each person who is in a
relationship must choose between two strategies; buy a gift for their
significant other or do nothing to celebrate the day,” the duo writes.
Given that there are two players, each with two strategic options, there
are three possible outcomes that can happen on the day. The first
outcome is that both buy gifts, and are satisfied to learn that their
partner is committed to the relationship. But that satisfaction comes at
a huge cost as most Valentine day gifts are over-priced. The second
outcome is that one partner buys a gift and the other does not. One need
not explain the consequence. Suffice to say that break-ups tend to
spike up in the second half of February, according to Facebook data. The
third outcome is that neither gifts.
“The best strategy would be for couples to ignore the holiday
altogether, but they won’t because there is just too much pressure to
conform to the holiday traditions from both inside and outside the
relationship. From a game strategic perspective, participating in the
holiday just leads to sub-optimal outcomes,” the duo argues.

Do Valentine’s day
gifts also satisfy the test of economic rationality? Neil MacArthur and
Mariana Adshade use game theory to show why it is best to avoid such
gifts, especially if a couple is already committed.
“Valentine’s Day, essentially, is a game in which each person who is in a
relationship must choose between two strategies; buy a gift for their
significant other or do nothing to celebrate the day,” the duo writes.
Given that there are two players, each with two strategic options, there
are three possible outcomes that can happen on the day. The first
outcome is that both buy gifts, and are satisfied to learn that their
partner is committed to the relationship. But that satisfaction comes at
a huge cost as most Valentine day gifts are over-priced. The second
outcome is that one partner buys a gift and the other does not. One need
not explain the consequence. Suffice to say that break-ups tend to
spike up in the second half of February, according to Facebook data. The
third outcome is that neither gifts.
“The best strategy would be for couples to ignore the holiday
altogether, but they won’t because there is just too much pressure to
conform to the holiday traditions from both inside and outside the
relationship. From a game strategic perspective, participating in the
holiday just leads to sub-optimal outcomes,” the duo argues.

Do Valentine’s day
gifts also satisfy the test of economic rationality? Neil MacArthur and
Mariana Adshade use game theory to show why it is best to avoid such
gifts, especially if a couple is already committed.
“Valentine’s Day, essentially, is a game in which each person who is in a
relationship must choose between two strategies; buy a gift for their
significant other or do nothing to celebrate the day,” the duo writes.
Given that there are two players, each with two strategic options, there
are three possible outcomes that can happen on the day. The first
outcome is that both buy gifts, and are satisfied to learn that their
partner is committed to the relationship. But that satisfaction comes at
a huge cost as most Valentine day gifts are over-priced. The second
outcome is that one partner buys a gift and the other does not. One need
not explain the consequence. Suffice to say that break-ups tend to
spike up in the second half of February, according to Facebook data. The
third outcome is that neither gifts.
“The best strategy would be for couples to ignore the holiday
altogether, but they won’t because there is just too much pressure to
conform to the holiday traditions from both inside and outside the
relationship. From a game strategic perspective, participating in the
holiday just leads to sub-optimal outcomes,” the duo argues.

Do Valentine’s day
gifts also satisfy the test of economic rationality? Neil MacArthur and
Mariana Adshade use game theory to show why it is best to avoid such
gifts, especially if a couple is already committed.
“Valentine’s Day, essentially, is a game in which each person who is in a
relationship must choose between two strategies; buy a gift for their
significant other or do nothing to celebrate the day,” the duo writes.
Given that there are two players, each with two strategic options, there
are three possible outcomes that can happen on the day. The first
outcome is that both buy gifts, and are satisfied to learn that their
partner is committed to the relationship. But that satisfaction comes at
a huge cost as most Valentine day gifts are over-priced. The second
outcome is that one partner buys a gift and the other does not. One need
not explain the consequence. Suffice to say that break-ups tend to
spike up in the second half of February, according to Facebook data. The
third outcome is that neither gifts.
“The best strategy would be for couples to ignore the holiday
altogether, but they won’t because there is just too much pressure to
conform to the holiday traditions from both inside and outside the
relationship. From a game strategic perspective, participating in the
holiday just leads to sub-optimal outcomes,” the duo argues.

Do Valentine’s day
gifts also satisfy the test of economic rationality? Neil MacArthur and
Mariana Adshade use game theory to show why it is best to avoid such
gifts, especially if a couple is already committed.
“Valentine’s Day, essentially, is a game in which each person who is in a
relationship must choose between two strategies; buy a gift for their
significant other or do nothing to celebrate the day,” the duo writes.
Given that there are two players, each with two strategic options, there
are three possible outcomes that can happen on the day. The first
outcome is that both buy gifts, and are satisfied to learn that their
partner is committed to the relationship. But that satisfaction comes at
a huge cost as most Valentine day gifts are over-priced. The second
outcome is that one partner buys a gift and the other does not. One need
not explain the consequence. Suffice to say that break-ups tend to
spike up in the second half of February, according to Facebook data. The
third outcome is that neither gifts.
“The best strategy would be for couples to ignore the holiday
altogether, but they won’t because there is just too much pressure to
conform to the holiday traditions from both inside and outside the
relationship. From a game strategic perspective, participating in the
holiday just leads to sub-optimal outcomes,” the duo argues.

Do Valentine’s day
gifts also satisfy the test of economic rationality? Neil MacArthur and
Mariana Adshade use game theory to show why it is best to avoid such
gifts, especially if a couple is already committed.
“Valentine’s Day, essentially, is a game in which each person who is in a
relationship must choose between two strategies; buy a gift for their
significant other or do nothing to celebrate the day,” the duo writes.
Given that there are two players, each with two strategic options, there
are three possible outcomes that can happen on the day. The first
outcome is that both buy gifts, and are satisfied to learn that their
partner is committed to the relationship. But that satisfaction comes at
a huge cost as most Valentine day gifts are over-priced. The second
outcome is that one partner buys a gift and the other does not. One need
not explain the consequence. Suffice to say that break-ups tend to
spike up in the second half of February, according to Facebook data. The
third outcome is that neither gifts.
“The best strategy would be for couples to ignore the holiday
altogether, but they won’t because there is just too much pressure to
conform to the holiday traditions from both inside and outside the
relationship. From a game strategic perspective, participating in the
holiday just leads to sub-optimal outcomes,” the duo argues.

Do Valentine’s day
gifts also satisfy the test of economic rationality? Neil MacArthur and
Mariana Adshade use game theory to show why it is best to avoid such
gifts, especially if a couple is already committed.
“Valentine’s Day, essentially, is a game in which each person who is in a
relationship must choose between two strategies; buy a gift for their
significant other or do nothing to celebrate the day,” the duo writes.
Given that there are two players, each with two strategic options, there
are three possible outcomes that can happen on the day. The first
outcome is that both buy gifts, and are satisfied to learn that their
partner is committed to the relationship. But that satisfaction comes at
a huge cost as most Valentine day gifts are over-priced. The second
outcome is that one partner buys a gift and the other does not. One need
not explain the consequence. Suffice to say that break-ups tend to
spike up in the second half of February, according to Facebook data. The
third outcome is that neither gifts.
“The best strategy would be for couples to ignore the holiday
altogether, but they won’t because there is just too much pressure to
conform to the holiday traditions from both inside and outside the
relationship. From a game strategic perspective, participating in the
holiday just leads to sub-optimal outcomes,” the duo argues.